Patients’ survival rates and their correlated factors in the prehospital setting of a dust explosion incident

Abstract

Background: Triage plays a critical role in mass casualty incidents by optimizing the use of medical resources. The Formosa Fun Coast (Baxian Water Park) dust explosion incident in 2015 revealed the lack of resources in the Taiwanese medical system to handle large-scale burn and scald casualties; however, this incident resulted in only 3% mortalities (15/499) by the end of 2015. Objective: This study aims to examine the key features and correlated factors of the prehospital setting in 15 mortalities. Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled all patients from the Formosa Fun Coast incident (N = 499). The follow-up period was from 27 June to 31 December 2015. We first examined the correlation between patient survival and various variables and then tested the correlation between survival-correlated variables and the level of hospitals that provided treatment. Results: The survivor and nonsurvivor groups shared similar distributions of all study variables. Emergency medical technician performed the triage assessment, and the Baux score correlated with patient survival. This study further tested whether the hospital level correlated with the emergency medical technician–performed triage assessment or Baux score. A chi-square test revealed that the emergency medical technician–performed triage assessment and Baux score correlated with patient survival, thereby indirectly affirming the planning, training, and auditing of the Taiwanese emergency medical technician system. Conclusion: The lack of the effect of the hospital level on patient mortality indicated that mortality might be related to the severity of burn injury rather than the level of hospital chosen for initial treatment, besides being related to a satisfactory emergency medical technician–performed triage system.